Lost Ladder Lament
fbb was slightly miffed to find that his recently purchased Hornby 100 ton TEA rank wagon was not as illustrated on EBay. It lacked the end ladders.
Bur undaunted by his sadness, the old nan was able to order two ladders via EBay ...
... and they duly arrived, well packaged by the supplier.
They were beautiful to behold ...
... and ready the clip in place ...
... to be secured by a tiny dob of glue.
Then the end fell off!
Hopefully a bodge will be possible?
Watch this space!
Troublesome Tunnel Traffic
Another one!
fbb has already reviewed some of the multiple proposals for competitive services to join Eurostar in the Trans-manche Tunnel Transit.
Here us the latest contender.
Who is Gemini Trains?
They have got a Lord on the board!
So that must make it special. Likewise the web site blurb makes it all sound special as well.
At Gemini Trains, our aim is to change the face of European rail travel. We believe that an unashamed ‘customer first’ service culture, coupled with great value fares and truly innovative offerings, will help reinvigorate rail travel.
Gemini Trains will be stylish, comfortable and a real pleasure to travel on, with routes planned between the UK, France and Belgium. In future, we plan to expand our offering to several new destinations across Europe.
Gemini Trains understands the growing demand for long distance rail travel and recognises rail competition is expanding significantly in Europe. Yet on the core Channel Tunnel route there remains only one choice for customers.
We believe there is a significant opportunity for a dynamic disruptor operator offering mixed ‘economy’ and ‘business’ seats at a lower price point than Eurostar.
Has Gemini got any trains?
Pardon?
Certainly nothing (yet!) to write home about!
In 2025, Gemini Trains announced several partnerships with different companies. They chose Siemens Mobility for the manufacturing of rolling stock, using the new Velaro Novo design.[9] Gemini also announced that Rock Rail would be helping to finance the new fleet, and that Uber would co-brand the trains, allowing users to book tickets directly through the Uber app.
Will Gemini be paying to re-unstate Eurostar platforms at Stratford, the company's London terminus!Welcome to Great Britain!
Time will tell.
A Natter On The Matter Of Scatter
Modern modellers are very keen on "static grass". Now in fbb's aged grey cells, all grass us "static" until you mow it, scythe it, burn it or concrete over it.
The "static" in the description above has nothing to do with fescues forbidden from froliclicking freely over the fields!
It is about using "static" electricity to make your grass stand up like, well, grass.
Note the electrical connection above.
The results can be impressive but the costs are significant. So fbb simply scatters scatter.
The white staining is overdone and has been mostly washed off.That's better.
Ballasting is in progress.
A bit of hillside has also been scattered upon ...
... with undergrowth to follow which will hide the toomgreen green.
Narrow And Not NorthernIt looks like a sprinter but the rails are closer together. It is a metre gauge version of a class 158 operating in Thailand.
... narrow gauge!
Exeter Electrified?According to this 'news' item illustration, the third rail 750 volt DC electrification of the former Southern Railway ....... has now reached Exeter.
It hasn't. The line west via Salisbury still enjoys its reliable service of class 158/159 diesel units.
Bigger Barriers?The above illustrates an article about the installation of full height ticket barriers at certain stations, to combat fare dodgers. The above samples from manufacturer Cubic seem unsatisfactory. Surely passengers would see the above as open barriers.
Clear plastic, he good for broken noses!
These are better but possibly not to wide, so less clear plastic ...... but the wide gate is still transparent!
Or you could install some of these ...... very effective at catching and deterring non-payers.
Here is a list of stations that will soon be getting the big, bold, bossy barriers.
Gipsy Hill?
Clearly, fbb needs to investigate that hotbed of fare dodging that is Gipsy Hill. Where?
Next Gipsy Hill blog : Monday 20th July
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